Promises
by ruthc93
Summary: One-shot. During and after a near-death experince, promises were made. Takagi/Satou


**This is my first Takagi/Satou fic. So please, don't flame if they seem a little OOC. Just politely point out what you think is wrong and tell me so I can improve the next time I write.**

**I got this idea as I watched episode 304, where Satou had a dream/nightmare about Takagi being taken away by the Reaper just like her father and Matsuda. Then I got thinking, what if Satou's father and Matsuda are the ones that always made sure that Takagi won't be taken away by the Reaper? This was the result.**

**Disclaimer: Now, it wouldn't make sense that I would have this disclaimer here if I owned this thing. All characters belong to Aoyama Gosho-sama, except for those two robbers. They're mine to wind up like tin soldiers and do whatever I tell them to with. **

**Some words will be in bold and will have an interpretation at the bottom.**

_**Promises**_

"Takagi-**kun**, look out!" Satou Miwako yelled as one of the robbers tried to bring down the young **keiji** with an aluminum bat. Luckily, Takagi had heard the warning in time and managed to duck the blow. Satou sighed with relief, but that relief was short-lived as she found herself being ambushed by the second robber.

Her police trainings kicked into action as she wasted no time overpowering her opponent. With the robber firmly held in her grasp, she snapped on the handcuffs. Satou smirked to herself as the man beneath her cursed about being taken down in five seconds flat by a woman who's younger then him. Yup, there are definitely some perks in her being in the **MPD**. The element of surprise is one of them.

She looked up to see how her partner was doing, and was delighted to see that he has also gotten the upper hand of the bat-wielder. Takagi Wataru, panting a little, pinned Bat-wielder's arm behind his back (thus making the bat fall from his grip) and quickly snapped his handcuffs on the robber's wrists. After Bat-wielder was properly restrained, Takagi stood and led him to where Satou was still sitting on the cursing man.

"Nice job, Takagi-kun! You're improving!" Satou beamed cheerfully with a smile. Takagi blinked. "…eh?"

"Last time, it took you longer to subdue your guy." She continued to beam as she finally got off the robber and made him stand. Takagi let out an awkward laugh, "Yeah…thanks, Satou-**san**."

They then proceeded to call Shiratori, tell him their status, and waited for Shiratori and the others to show up. While they're waiting, Bat-wielder suddenly let out a snort. Satou frowned and let curiosity get the better of her, "What's so funny?"

"I just thought of a plan." Bat-wielder said menacingly as he gave an evil smirk. Then, he suddenly charged and head-butted Satou in the stomach.

"Oomph!" Satou immediately drew her arms over her stomach as she staggered backwards.

Right to the edge of a small ridge by the lake.

"SATOU-SAN!" Takagi yelled as he quickly ran forward, grabbed Satou's flailing arm, and spun her to the safety of the ground behind them. But the momentum that the spin gave placed Takagi in the exact same spot where Satou was just a moment before.

Normally, he didn't really mind dropping into the lake. It was a hot day, and he could swim, unlike Satou at the moment since she had gotten a blow to the stomach and was probably too weak to swim. But then he saw the shimmering.

The shimmering of the sunlight that reflected from the aluminum bat was coming straight for his skull.

Satou dropped to the ground when Takagi let go of her, one arm still pressed over her stomach. She whirled her head around in time to see the bat connect with Takagi's forehead. Takagi screamed in pain, and then he lost consciousness.

"**IEEEEEE**!!" Satou screamed as Takagi's body disappeared over the ridge and a loud "SPLASH" was heard a few seconds later. The robber laughed and turned towards Satou. "**Sa**, it's your turn now."

Suddenly, the pain in her stomach forgotten, Satou let out a cry of rage and ran up, grabbed the bat out of the surprised robber's hand, and hit the robber over the head, hard. The robber dropped immediately. Satou pushed him out of the way as she ran to the ridge and dove into the water.

DCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Shiratori drove down the road and stopped at the park. It was a huge, natural park that had a lake in the middle. It was also where Takagi and Satou had caught the two robbers/killers. Shiratori muttered something incoherent darkly as he got out of the car along with Megure and Chiba. The older **keibu** eyed him weirdly, "Why so gloomy, Shiratori-kun? Takagi-kun and Satou-kun caught the criminals, didn't they?"

Chiba sighed. Of course, Megure found nothing wrong with the fact that they had caught the criminals _together_. With Shiratori, that's a whole different story.

Catching the criminals together while both were having a lunch break proves more than enough that Takagi and Satou had been eating together. That tiny tidbit was hardly welcome in Shiratori's books.

"It's nothing." Shiratori mumbled as they began walking towards the location that Takagi and Satou had provided them. They were almost there when they heard Takagi's frantic "Satou-san", then his scream of pain. Shiratori took off first, followed by Chiba then Megure. While they were running, Satou's "Ie!" and the splash rang in their ears as Shiratori gritted his teeth and quickened his steps.

To say that Shiratori was very surprised when he saw Satou leap off the ridge into the lake would have been an understatement.

Apparently, that fact applied to Megure as well. "Satou-kun!" Megure said in horror. Both of the keibu's and Chiba leaned out from the ridge to get a better look.

After what seamed like an eternity, Satou finally emerged to the surface and the three sighed with relief. Only that relief was quickly replaced by concern when they realized that Satou wasn't the only one that's in the lake.

DCDCDCDCDCDCDC

The water was cold. But how the water felt like was the last thing on Satou's mind as she swam downward. She noticed that a trickle of red was streamed in the clear water of the lake.

_Blood_. She realized with horror. She went a few more feet before she saw Takagi's body. She quickly swam to him, grabbed him by the shirt and hauled him towards the surface.

When they broke through the surface, Satou gasped and begin looking around for a shore until finally, she spotted one. She placed Takagi on her back, took another breath, and began swimming towards it.

The swim there went pretty smooth, and they were there within three minutes. Satou first pulled herself ashore, and then she dragged Takagi with her. Frantically, she let him lay down on the grassy lake shore, only then did she take a good long look at her fallen partner.

The old wound on the side of his forehead from the Shuushirou/Arsonist case had opened up again and a good amount of blood was pouring through it. Satou used her sleeve to wipe away the blood from his face as she checked if he was breathing. To her horror, he wasn't.

"No." She gasped and began performing CPR.

Mouth to mouth. A push.

"No…please…no……"

Mouth to mouth. Another push.

"Wake up!"

Mouth to mouth.

Shiratori and Megure came up behind her. Shiratori immediately froze and stared in horror when he saw the condition Takagi was in._ No……_

A push.

"Takagi-kun!!"

Mouth to mouth.

Megure stared with equal horror that of Shiratori. He silently hoped against hope that the young keiji will, by some miracle, survive.

Another push.

"Takagi-kun, wake up!"

Mouth to mouth.

Satou's pushes got more frantic when absolutely no response came from her unmoving partner.

"Please…"

Mouth to mouth.

"Please, don't do this to me…not again…not again……" A sob escaped her throat as Satou gave Takagi's chest one last push. Shiratori tried to reach out to her, but Megure stopped him, knowing that they have to let Satou accept the truth herself.

DCDCDCDCDCDCDC

_**TAKAGI'S POV**_

"No……" I stared at the scene before me, not really believing what I was seeing. Satou-san frantically doing CPR on what appeared to be my body, while Shiratori-san and Megure-keibu stood of to the side, watching. But other than that, the world around me was darker than a moonless night.

"I'm…dead?" I asked no one. Suddenly, I felt a pressure on my shoulder. Turning around, I found myself face to face with a figure in a dark cloak with a scythe who I can only guess is the Reaper.

"Time to go, son." The Reaper said. I looked at his out-stretched hand, and then back at Satou-san, who's in the same position as I looked before. I realized that time has stopped.

"It's too late, son. You can't change what happened." The Reaper spoke again. I stared at his black-gloved hand again and, without really thinking, lifted my hand and reached towards him.

My hand was almost in his when a bright light suddenly shone, causing me to cover my eyes with both of my arms. When the light died down, there was another person (ghost?) standing there, seething. He stomped forward, grabbed my hand, and pushed me behind him as he turned and faced the Reaper. "Haven't you already taken enough from her?!" He roared.

"It is not my place to decide. I'm merely doing my job." The Reaper retorted.

"It won't hurt to break the rules once in a while, dang it! Not even police officers are perfect! Hell, you're not even getting paid for this!!" The one shielding me roared louder as he took one step closer to the Reaper. The Reaper flinched a little, but he stood his ground. "Please, Masayoshi. Don't make me use force."

Masayoshi-san snorted and spread his arms so that he looked like a basketball player guarding the hoop. Only right now, he's guarding me. "I don't care what you can do to me, but I'm NOT letting you take this boy away from her."

The Reaper looked at us glumly and sighed, "Very well." He lifted his scythe and pointed it at us, and the blade began to emit a dark, eerie glow. I shut my eyes, waiting for the blow. But then, another white light shone into the space we were in. This time, I was a little shocked as I recognized his face.

"M-Matsuda-san?" I asked. The new ghost nodded and glared at the black-clad figure. The Reaper flinched again and took a step backwards, "Please, Jinpei, not you too." Matsuda-san eyed him coolly.

"I agree with Masayoshi about not taking another loved one from her," he said and nodded at me. I felt myself blush. "But, I'm not happy with the method he's using." He said as he cast a glare at Masayoshi-san's direction. Masayoshi-san just shrugged.

The Reaper sighed tiredly as he withdrew his scythe and leaned on it, "And your method would be…?"

"Let Wataru decide himself."

My eyes widened and the Reaper almost fell over. "Are you crazy?! If we let every single one of them decide for themselves then I'll be…out……" He trailed off when Matsuda-san threw him another glare. The Reaper then sighed and hung his head in defeat, "Fine, you win. But remember, when you get back, don't be surprised to find some officials waiting at your places." And with that, the Reaper vanished.

There was a long, uncomfortable (to me, at least) silence. Finally, I decided to speak up, "**Ano**…" Both of the ghosts turned to me. I felt nervous under their gaze, "I…I wouldn't want the two of you to get in trouble because of me……"

"Nonsense," Masayoshi-san snorted, "What else can they do to us? We're already dead." I flinched at the word. "D-does that mean that I'm also…also……" I trailed off and stared at the ground beneath me. If I'm dead, what would that mean? What will become of Satou-san? Will Shiratori-san finally win her over? Or…would she be so scarred that she won't find love ever again? Or maybe-

My chain of thoughts was cut off when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I lifted my head to see Matsuda-san smiling warmly at me. "Only if you want to be." He said.

My eyes widened. I looked over to where Satou-san, Shiratori-san, and Megure-keibu are again. Then I turned to meet Matsuda-san's eyes. He nodded.

"**Arigatou**," I said, grabbing his hand and shaking it. "Arigatou, for giving me another chance." Matsuda-san looked a little surprised, but then he smiled and shook back, "Don't thank me, you deserve it."

I turned and went to where my body is. Somehow, I knew that all I had to do was touch my body and I'll be back. When I touched it, a warm bright light began to shine. As I stood, enchanted by the light, I felt someone grab my hand. I turned around and came face to face with Masayoshi-san. He clasped my hand in his and said, "Take care Miwako for me, Wataru. Take care of my little girl."

I nodded. Then it hit me and my eyes widened, "You're…you're…"

All I saw was Masayoshi-san nodding before the light got too bright for me to see anything at all.

DCDCDCDCDCDCDC

"Please, don't do this to me…not again…not again……" A sob escaped her throat as Satou gave Takagi's chest one last push. Shiratori tried to reach out to her, but Megure stopped him, knowing that they have to let Satou accept the truth herself.

Suddenly, Takagi coughed. The extra water in his trachea came shooting out as he abruptly sat up. He gasped a few times before Satou buried herself in Takagi's chest. He blushed.

"Thank heavens you're alright…" She repeated over and over again as she sobbed into his shirt.

This lasted a few more seconds, but then Satou seemed to snap back into reality, and she pushed herself away from Takagi and promptly slapped him across the face.

"S-Satou-san?" Takagi asked, clearly confused.

"Don't you EVER do that again! You nearly scared me half to death!! Were you even thinking when you did that?! Answer me!!" Satou yelled into his face.

"I…I just didn't want you to get hu-"

"Didn't want me to get hurt?! You almost DIED, Takagi-kun. Don't do it again. Promise me!" Then she broke down. "Promise me……" Tears began to stream down her face again.

_Sa-Satou-san……_Takagi watched as the beautiful woman in front of him cried. He smiled and wiped away her tears with his hand. "I promise."

They stayed like that for who knows how long before they heard an obviously faked cough. They both turned and saw that Shiratori and Megure were still standing there. They blushed and Satou quickly got up from her position.

"Nice to see you both doing fine. Now, would you mind explaining what happened?" Megure asked.

"Well, you see, Megure-keibu, Satou-san and I were……" Takagi said as he tried to get up. He trailed off, stumbled, and dropped to the ground again.

"Takagi-kun!" All of the other three MPD's rushed forward and caught their falling colleague.

"It's his wound. He needs a hospital, fast." Shiratori said as he examined Takagi. Megure immediately got out his cell phone and dialed for an ambulance.

DCDCDCDCDCDCDC

Shiratori watched Satou stare off into space, again. They had gotten Takagi to the nearest hospital, and the doctor is treating him right now. But Satou hasn't said a word since Takagi collapsed back at the park.

He decided to risk being ignored and went up to her. "Miwako-san?"

"Hmm?" was all he got from the female keiji. Shiratori sighed. Here goes nothing.

"What exactly did Takagi-kun do back there?"

Satou visibly tensed, and Shiratori considered dropping the subject just as she spoke, "He…he saved me."

Shiratori raised an eyebrow. Surely that wasn't all, at least, not enough to make Satou blow up on Takagi like she did.

"One of the robbers, he rammed into my stomach purposely, making me stagger back to the edge of the ridge." She closed her eyes. "I thought I was going to fall, but then, HE caught my arm and spun me around. Then…then…" She bit her lips. "…the robber slammed the aluminum bat into his forehead. He lost consciousness right on the spot." She gulped.

"It…it should have been me, Shiratori-kun. I was the one that was going to fall into the lake. But he…he saved me by placing himself in my spot instead." Satou began to tremble. "What if…what if he does it again? What if the next time, he won't be able to survive?"

"No."

Satou looked up, surprised at how fast Shiratori responded. Shiratori was looking at the door that led into the room where Takagi was treated, "Nothing will happen to him. Not if I can help it." After seeing Takagi lying there, so close to death, Shiratori decided that that was a scene he never wanted to see again. Ever.

Satou smiled, "Didn't know that you cared so much about him."

Shiratori immediately looked away, trying to hide the smile that came up on his face. _Yeah……Guess I do care about that nervous, fidgety colleague of mine._ Of course, he'll never admit it in front of Takagi. Hell, he'll never admit it in front of anyone. Not even Miwako-san.

A few minutes later, the door opened and the doctor walked out. "He's been treated and is now conscious. You can go see him now." The doctor told them. "But make sure he doesn't do any sudden movements. That wound of his is a little too close to the skull for comfort." Shiratori thanked the doctor, and he and Satou went through the door to see Takagi.

Takagi was propped up in the hospital bed by some pillows and his forehead was wrapped in white bandage. He smiled and waved when he saw them.

Shiratori watched from the door with a hint of jealousy as Satou's face lit up. She walked over to the bedside and sat down on a chair next to it. "So, my savior from the terrors of the lake, how are you feeling?"

Takagi visibly blushed, "Ah…**ia**…I just did the first thing on my mind, that's all."

They continued to talk for a few more minutes before Satou suddenly asked, "Oh, that's right. Takagi-kun, are you hungry? There's a convenience store right across the street. Maybe I can get some **cupped** **ramen** for you."

"N-no, it's okay. I'm not that hungry…" And of course, Takagi's stomach chose that moment to defy everything he said in that sentence. Takagi laughed nervously as Satou shook her head and got up. "Well, wait for me, alright?" And with that, she went out the door.

"Just because you're hurt, I'm not going to strangle you right now."

Takagi jumped when he heard Shiratori's voice suddenly come out. "Ah, Shiratori-san! You're still here. You were so quiet that I thought you had left…" He trailed off into nervous laughter. Shiratori huffed as he turned his head away.

There was a period of silence before Takagi spoke, "Ano…Shiratori-san? Why don't you sit down? I-it must not be very comfortable for you to stand like that."

Shiratori, deciding that it won't hurt, came and sat down on the chair that Satou had just been on a few minutes ago. Another awkward silence fell upon them as Shiratori looked at the injured keiji in the bed before him. Takagi looked like he was in deep thought as he opened his mouth to say something, only to close it again in hesitation. Shiratori sighed, "Out with it, Takagi-kun."

"Huh?"

"Out with it. Say whatever it is that you want to say to me before your jaws fall apart."

Takagi blushed again. Then he lowered his head and said quietly, "Ano…Shiratori-san?"

"Hmm?" Shiratori was getting impatient.

"Can…can you promise me something?" Shiratori looked at him curiously. Takagi's eyes were hidden behind his bangs, and his voice was so soft that it was barely above a whisper.

"If…if something…anything…is to happen to me, promise me that you'll look after Satou-san, no matter how much she rejects you, alright?"

Shiratori blinked. "What?"

"Please, Shiratori-san, promise me." Takagi looked up, his eyes meeting with the keibu's. Shiratori looked back into his co-worker's eyes. Finally, he made his decision.

"No."

Now it was Takagi's turn to blink. Shiratori would have laughed at this identical expression he had on his own face a few seconds ago if it weren't for the situation right now.

"No." Shiratori repeated. "First of all, I don't like making you promises." Takagi's shoulders visibly dropped and he lowered his head again.

"Second, I won't let it happen." This time, Takagi snapped up his head in surprise. Shiratori just huffed, "Don't get any wrong ideas. You're just not allowed to die until I say so."

Takagi smiled. "Thank you, Shiratori-san." Shiratori huffed and looked away for what seemed like the tenth time that day.

Right at that moment, the door swung open as Satou came in. "And here comes our ramen! I got one for each of us!" She stated happily as she handed out the cupped ramens to the two men.

Takagi thanked her and, just by chance, he spotted the momentum handcuffs in Satou's pocket.

"_Take care of my little girl, Wataru."_

Masayoshi's last words to him rang in his mind. Takagi smiled and looked out the window by the bed. The sky was dyed a beautiful mixture of reddish orange and light purple by the sunset.

_I will, Masayoshi-san. I will._

**OMAKE**

"Satou-san? What happened to the criminal?"

"…Oh…OH!! I completely forgot!"

"Don't worry; he was taken in by Chiba-kun."

"Oh. That's good to know."

"…"

"Shi-Shiratori-san, you do realize that there were two robbers, right?"

"…"

"…Oh crud."

**A/N: I admit it! The part where Takagi saved Satou was inspired by the close call Heiji and Kazuha had! And I don't own that plot, either!**

**This didn't really turn out as it was planned. I intended to stop at where Takagi first woke up. But then, the plunnies got to me and this was the result XD.**

**And I really don't know about Takagi's wound. I mean, it must be pretty deep for him to just go and faint on the spot like that, right? But neither the anime nor manga showed any signs of a possible scar left from that wound. I just figured I'll make the wound a bit more serious for it to go along with my story.**

**AND, I've said it before, and I'll say it again, sorry if the characters seemed OOC! If you have any comments, or if you find anything bothering you, please feel free to review and tell me. But no flaming! They burn! OWIE!**

**Interpretations:**

**Kun- an honorific used for colleagues, not-so-close friends, or people (mostly boys) younger than you**

**Keiji- a police detective**

**MPD- Metropolitan Police Department, the name for the police in Tokyo**

**San- an honorific used for someone to show respect, or for people that are older, or the ones that you just met**

**Ie/Ia- no**

**Sa- sort of like a 'so'**

**Keibu- inspector**

**Ano- and equivalent to the English 'um'**

**Arigatou- thank you**

**Cupped ramen- a type of instant noodle**


End file.
